Apple iPhone 'one of the worst' phones: study

Lifestyle

Posted on September 07, 2016

Could this be proof that Apple users simply don’t use iPhones for making calls?

In a test of 26 smartphones by telecommunication authorities in Scandinavia, it was found that the newer iPhones – including the iPhone 6s, iPhone 6 and iPhone5SE – were among the worst for signal quality.

The test measured the phone’s ability to transmit in the GSM 900 band – a signal commonly used for voice conversation.

Out of the 26 models tested, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 5SE ended up in the bottom five for signal strength, and the much cheaper Samsung J1, Samsung S5 Mini and HTC Desire 626 were among the best.

Weirdly, all performed slightly better when held in the user’s right hand.

“Apple has had problems and they continue to have them,” Aalborg University’s Professor Gert Frølund Pedersen told Metro.co.uk.

“It also seems that the problems are greater in their newer phones, which is incredible.”

While it could be a reflection of how customers now use their phones, such as the desire for more computing power over voice call ability, conclusions on why iPhone gave such a poor test performance were unclear.